Your choice of networking technology directly affects your hardware requirements and costs. IoT devices are deployed in so many different ways — in clothing, homes, schools, factories, and even your body — that no single technology fits all bills.

Can you build an IoT system with familiar Web technologies? Or should you choose the new purpose-designed protocols that meet the requirements of devices with small amounts of memory, and networks with low bandwidth and high latency?

Running a cloud service must be a core competency; there will be no room for dilettantes. But not all organizations have the DNA to provide fail-safe operation of their servers and network, let alone guaranteeing back-ups and system redundancy.